Pressure fluid motor and combined telescopic guide and housing therefor



April 2l, 1953 R. o. BILL PRESSURE FLUID MOTOR AND COMBINED TELESCOPIC GUIDE AND HOUSING THEREFOR Filed oct. 21, 1,949-

2 SHEETS-SHEET l l .6 l l rfi" April 21, 1953 R, o, BILL 2,635,583

` PRESSURE FLUID MOTOR AND COMBINED TELESCOPIC GUIDE AND HOUSING THEREFOR Filed OCT'. 2l, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 7 5L gelfllg//l/l//l//l/ll 57 J5 l I I i f5 x i ,Y 27 5f 44 47 @Ik 4a i 47 fij a if j?, ff 517// 6 fly, l/l lz L g I/ l f 77 1` r ".I` l, 4- N 'I "n ,u l

[qlflun Patented Apr. 21, Y1953 OFFICE PRESSURE FLUID MOTOR. AND COM- BIN ED TELESCOPIC GUIDE'AND HOUS- ING THEREFOR Robert 0. Bill, San Leandro, Calif.

Application October 21, 1949, Serial No. 122,746

v claims. l

This' invention relates to improvements in hydraulic means for elevating and lowering the beds of vehicles, and particularly to the rear end of the bed as applied to stub axles which permit thev bed to` be lowered to rest on the supporting surface for the vehicle, such as, a` road, platform, or on the ground.

This invention is an improvement over my copending application Serial Number 128,404, filed November 19, 1949, now Patent No. 2,598,031 and Letters Patent numbered 2,475,443, issued July 5, '1949, 2,560,714 and 2,560,715, issued July 17, 1951, and 2,546,491, issuedl March 27, 1951; in thatV the guides function only as guides, and with the pressure fluid motors located within the guidesY and requiring a minimum amount of fluid for their operation, and because the pressure uid motors are readily removable for replacement or repair without affecting other parts of the Vehicle. Furthermore, the housing of the pressure uid motors within the guides protects the jacks against dust and dirt. so th-at the plunger, piston, or piston rod, or any packing will not lose its sealing efficiency because of wear induced through admission of grit.

Thus it will be realized that a worthwhile improvement has resulted, increasing the life of the pressure fluid motors and requiring far lessattention and repair, and greatly decreasing the amount of fluid to bedelivered for any elevating or lowering adjustment of the vehicle bed.

The objects and advantages o f the invention are as follows:

First, t0 provide a vehicle bed with, elevating and lowering means and with separate guiding means with the elevating and lowering means housed within the guiding means fork exclusion of dust, and grit.

Second, to provide a kvehicle, bed with elev-ating and lowering means which requires a minlmum amount of liquid for its operation.

' Third, to provide elevating and lowering means and guiding means which is applicable to either,

- stub or through axles, and equally applicable to single or tandem wheel constructions and whichV in the case of tandem Wheels permits relative vertical movements between the respective wheels to compensate for variations in the heights of support'surfaces for the respective wheels.

Fourth, to provide elevating and lowering means as outlined which includes pressure fluid motorsA which are removable and replaceable atY will Ywithout requiring any disassemblyof guiding means or other parts of the vehicle.

Fifth, to provideelevating and` lowering means as* outlined which` is relatively simple in con- 2 f l struction and operation, and easily removed and replaced.

In describing the invention reference will be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation through the invention as appliedto a stu-b axle and single wheel.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a dual wheel arrangement drawn to a reducedvscale.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line3--3 ofV Fig; 2.

Fig. 4 is a side sectional elevation through the invention as applied to a swivel frontv axle.-

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of Fig. 4 with the guide and cylinder shown in section and taken on a line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

In some of the previously mentioned applications and patents the guiding means and the pressure fluid motors were one and the same, the specific structures performing both functions simultaneously. This invention incorporates the same guiding means, but provides a separate pressure fluid motor which is housed within the guiding means, the pressure uid motors being thus protected against dirt and` grit, thus assuring long life and positive operation.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, a wheel housingV I0 is provided for each wheel IIv and is made rigid with 'the bed I2 of the vehicle, this wheel housing or fender being made sufficiently strong and rigid to support that portion of the vehicle when loaded to capacity. This construction applies only to wheels the direction of travel of which is xed, such as therearwheels of' a truck, trailer or semi-trailer, and includes a stub axle I3 which is fixed in a depending cross-head I4, with the wheel rotatable on the axle. A pairl ofv sleeves I5 and I6l are respectively formed integral with orfxed to the respective arms I1' and I8 of the crosshead and project upwardly. in parallel.

Another pair of sleeves I9 and 20 are respectively xed to the underside of the top member of they fender as indicated at 2I and 22 andare slidable over the sleeves I5 and I6, forming two telescopic guides.

The pressure fluid motor consistsY of aV cylinder 23l which is freely mounted within. a passage 24 formed through the topl member 25' of the fender, and' terminates ina head 26 by which it is bolted downl on the' top member as indicated at4 21. A plunger 28 operates within this cylinder and has suitablesealingmeans such as. a cup leather 29 securedto its upper end, and ailuid connection 30 is` provided for the pressure fluid line 3I; a suitable passage being'provided as indicated at 32"v for makingV the connection tov The other pair of sleeves may include the pressure fluid motor, but this has been found unnecessary for all normal loading, therefore is shown as merely consisting of the telescopic guide the function of which is to maintain the alignment of the stub axle so that the wheel track along the path of travel.

As will be noted, the cylinders, in addition to being xed to the underside of the top member 25 are also fixed to the back member 33 by brackets 34 and 35, near the lower end, thus providing an extremely rigid mounting for the cylinders.

For dual Wheels, or any number of wheels in tandem, the structure is the same foreach of the Wheels, including the sleeves I9 and 20, and I and I6 for each Wheel, with a pressure fluid motor mounted in each of the guides I9 which pressure fluid motors are connected together by a common connection 36 which in turn is connected to the pressure fluid line 3l, thus permitting the respective wheels to compensate between each other for irregularities in the surface 31 over which the Wheels are traveling; the telescopic sleeves I6 functioning purely as guide and aligning means.

, Fig. l shows the bed in a raised position for traveling while Fig. 2 shows the bed in a position where it rests on the ground.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, the same elevating and lowering means is provided for the forward end of a trailer with a front swivel axle, except, instead of having a fender for support, the sleeve I9 is supported by a gooseneck 38 to which it is bracketed as indicated at 39 and 40 but the sleeve I5 is provided with a base 4I having a yoke 42 which spans the front axle 43 and is pivotally supported thereby as indicated at 44; the combination of pressure fluid motors for all wheels being connected to a power equalizing system 45 as disclosed in my Patent No. 2,499,563, issued March 7, 1950, and specifically as shown, in my copending application Serial Number 89,425, filed April 25, 1949, for Equalizing Volume Power Distributor, and which therefore, does not form a part of this invention, and consists of a main cylinder 46 and a plurality of equalizing cylinders 41 all fixed to a common intermediate head 48, and with a piston 49 in the main cylinder and provided with a plunger 50 for each of the equalizing cylinders; a supply of fluid 5I and means 52 for delivering the fluid under high pressure to the main cylinder` as through the pipe 53 or returning it to the supply through the pipe 54, and a connection from each of the equalizing cylinders to the respective pressure fluid motors, as shown at 55 for the head end pressure fluid motor, and as indicated at 59 and 51 which lead to the rear end pressure fluid motors illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

As will be noted, with this arrangement no fifth wheel is required, as the pair of sleeves I5 and I9 function as the fifth wheel, and because of the gap between the vehicle head 58, gooseneck 38 and guide, the axle with its wheels 59 can be turned through a complete circle.

If any of the pressure fluid motors is to be repaired or replaced, it is merely necessary to disconnect the fluid line 3l, 36 or 55, remove the screws 21 and lift the pressure fluid motor out of the guide. This provides a rapid and easy repair or replacement job, and the pressure fluid motors, being of relatively small diameter will provide rapid elevating and lowering of the bed.

As will be noted further, the pressuregfluid motors for both the front and rear ends operate in the same manner and are mounted identically, each cooperating between the vehicle as through the gooseneck or fender, and the support as the crosshead 60 or the base 4I.

I claim:

1. Combination guiding means and pressure fluid motor comprising; a pair of telescopic sleeve members each having a head with one of said heads having an axial passage; a pressure uid motor comprising a plunger, and a cylinder having a head, and insertible through said axial passage; and means for securing said head of said cylinder to the top of said one of said heads with the plunger slidable and sealed in said cylinderand cooperating with the other one of said heads of said sleeve members, whereby said pressure fluid motor is housed and sealed within said guiding means and thereby protected against dust and grit to prolong the life of the pressure fluid motor and minimize the need for repairs.

2. A fluid motor comprising; a rst sleeve having a head end and supporting means for said sleeve; a second sleeve slidable within said first sleeve and having a base; a pressure uid motor insertible and removable through said head end at will and comprising a cylinder having a head releasably securable to said head end and having a plunger to cooperate with said base, and a fluid connection for said cylinder, with said pressure fluid motor being confined solely to lifting operations, and said sleeves functioning as the guiding means and as a sealed housing for said pressure fluid motor for exclusion of dirt.

3. A guiding and elevating and lowering unit for a vehicle bed comprising; a first sleeve having a base; a second sleeve slidable on said first sleeve and having a head having an axial passage; a pressure fluid motor comprising a cylinder insertible through said passage and having a head removably secured to the top of the head on said second sleeve, and a plunger slidable. in said cylinder and cooperative with the top side of said base, and a fluid connection for said cylinder, whereby said pressure fluid motor is removable and replaceable at will without affecting the assembly of said first and second sleeves.

4. A power lift comprising a telescopic housing consisting of a first sleeve having a head end, a second sleeve having a base and slidable in said first sleeve, a pressure fluid motor comprising a cylinder having an integral head of excess diameter equal to the diameter of said head end to coincidently form a head for said first sleeve, and means for securing said head to said head end, a plunger slidable in said cylinder and cooperative with said base, and a fluid connection for said cylinder; said pressure fluid motor being wholly enclosed within said telescopic housing with said housing functioning as guiding means and dirt excluding means and said pressure fluid motor being confined solely to lifting operations.

5. A telescopic housing having a head at each end, and a pressure fluid motor within said housing and cooperating between said heads for lifting operations with said Vhousing operating as guiding means and dirt excluding means for said pressure fluid motor, and a fluid connection for said pressure fluid motor, said housing consisting other, and'said Vpressure fluid motor cnsstins QI,

a cylinder and a plunger, with one end of said cylinder being formed integral axially with the head for theylarger one of said sleeves, and the last; mentioned head being removably secured to the sleeve to provide for removal of the pressure 5 iluid motor at will without disturbing the sleeves.

ROBERT O. BILL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 843,208 Hieber Feb. 5, 1907 Number 8 Name Date Kincaid, Jr May 28, 1935 May Oct. 27, 1936 Hurst Dec. 26, 1944 Bill July 5, 1949 Davis Sept. 6, 1949 

